William Rios

"I'm so excited that he's been rescued unharmed, and I want to send out an extra hug to his wife and family," Sherry Rios said. "Her husband was a hero. I'm thankful for him giving himself up for the crew."

After she was told of the attack last Tuesday, Sherry Rios sat by the phone with her children William Jr., 16, and Nikki, 22, and feared the worst.

"My husband isn't coming home," she thought.

From the deck of the Alabama on Saturday, William Rios said his first stop when he gets home will be Second St. John Baptist Church in Harlem.